Instagram’s CEO Adam Mosseri certainly dropped something on everyone during his speech right at the beginning. He said, “I want to start by saying we’re no longer a photo-sharing app.” Hmmm. Many of us figured as much when a normal photo post gets 14 likes and a Instagram Reel gets 922 likes with NO AD SPEND. Yes, I tried this on my own posts. With this breaking news, what does this mean for business owners today? Were you slowly haunted by the fear of what will happen and how to adapt to the seemingly huge changes about to take place? This statement made by Mosseri undeniably had people all over social media flustered. Instagram is no longer a photo-sharing app, but will it completely stop the sharing of photos feature? Certainly not. But Instagram will become an entertainment app. Now we need to understand what that means, and maybe consider a few different perspectives on this matter that’s upsetting so many users. The New Experiences in Four Areas Let’s hear Instagram’s side, once again: The first part of Adam’s video announcement, the app will be focusing on four primary areas - creators, videos, shopping, and messaging. Instagram is working to shift power from institutions to individual creators. That's a good thing...Yay!! You may want to consider that now for it surely has huge impacts, whether you’re an individual content creator or a business owner making the most of the platform. Videos are to prevail too. But will it be like Tiktok? We could discuss this later separately and in a broader sense. Shopping and messaging triumphed greatly when the pandemic happened. So introducing a new shopping and messaging experience for the users is no surprise although this has been happening for the last 10 months. Many start-ups and small businesses thrive on the platform, and it will be more of a benefit for them than a disadvantage which makes me happy. For example, for an individual or small business, online commerce will take a major role in the next “normal” on the platform. Wouldn't you think Instagram will let go of the promising opportunity that they already have with the shopping and messaging features? Instagram is a business. Simply put, they want profit. Why Videos? Whether we accept it or not, Instagram does not exist to serve us. They are here to earn profit and they will continue to do so as long as they want it. Today, videos immensely bring revenue to social media platforms. The numbers don’t lie. No matter how much users react to an upcoming change, facts are still facts. Video is here to stay. From a business perspective, a company will not simply sit around and wait for its customers to change their preferences. The usual and sane thing to do is to adapt to changes which means we all need to bring more video content into our overall media strategy. That is what Instagram is doing. YouTube is a GIANT force to be reckoned with and it Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook owns Instagram) wants some of that cash, he has to dip into sharing more videos to keep users on Instagram instead of YouTube. In the beginning, the creators of Instagram only wanted to produce Polaroid-like photos on mobile phones. Instagram only evolved into becoming a photo-sharing app upon positive reception from users. When you think about it, videos are motion pictures, right? We all love a GOOD movie, right? Nevertheless, we don’t watch the same show every single time we turn on the TV or go to the movies, or scroll through Netflix. We evolve and watch other things that interest us. As the planet evolves, we as humans also do. Our needs and wants change, and before we know it, the shift that we’re not yet aware of is already changing the narrative. So who’s ready for more videos on another social media feed? Will there be dancing videos of all sorts in our feeds for the coming months? We still can't answer that now but it’s time to get ready for it. Don’t Be Afraid of Experimenting We might be stuck but don't know it yet. It might be the users’ boredom that made Instagram's revenue go lower than other social media competitors. If users really enjoy pictures alone, why is Tiktok’s revenue double of Instagram’s and Instagram has been around much longer? That’s why this CEO of a billion-dollar company fearlessly announced that they will be experimenting in the coming months. Accused of not wanting to listen to their users, Adam Mosseri openly shared the company’s desire to experiment on what to do next. It isn't, after all, a giant and solid move they wanted to take. They are still trying to consider how users will react. No one is still certain if Tiktok entertainment will flood Instagram as well. Are You Ready for the Challenge? What shall we do if we can’t transition to videos? How about photographers and artists niching on the platform for a long time already? How do we upgrade our content to keep up with Instagram? These may be some questions most of us are asking now. And together with the leaders and creators of Instagram, we will discover the answers in the coming months. This is today, and this is happening now. All we really have to do is to adapt and embrace the challenge! This may be the opportunity to finally discover why our number of followers is not increasing significantly. Like Tiktok, maybe we need to engage our accounts publicly. Maybe we need to entertain those recommendations and dive into the trend so we can produce better content. Maybe it’s the change that we never know we need. So whether you’re an individual creator or a business/institution, just do what you do. Then add extra work on keeping up and creating your future video content, as soon as you can. Change is uncomfortable, but focus can be an antidote to it. So keep your eyes on the goal and continue shooting for the stars! You may also want to start shooting videos, too. To help you get started, I have created a video content ideas cheatsheet. It’s 77 of the most engaging topics for video right now. You can grab yours at www.thebrandsystem.org Til next time…… Jayme

Instagram is a great platform to build a brand and a loyal following. This social media platform allows you to build valuable connections and invite potential and existing customers to become a part of your community. It really is a special place, giving everyone the opportunity to grow a business online. If you’re having trouble growing on Instagram, this exhaustive list of Instagram growth hacks is the perfect place to start. Choose a few that resonate with you and your plans for your business and leave what doesn’t fit. Before you dive into Instagram growth, it’s important to nail your strategy. Why are you on Instagram anyway? What are you hoping to achieve and who are you hoping to connect with? It’s important to have the answers to these questions set because it would be a disaster for your engagement if you were to build an audience that’s simply not interested in what you’re offering. Once you have your Instagram marketing strategy set, use these tips to help you grow on the platform and reach the right people.

Here are 10 awesome Social Media Marketing Tips for Small businesses in 2020 to help increase customer acquisition and skyrocket your sales.